Sunday, June 7, 2009

Fauchon: Chocolat Noir aux Ecorces d'Oranges Confites

En Anglais: Dark Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel

I had previously thought that the French company Fauchon only made fancy preserves and jams -- now, looking at their website, I see that they make a lot of candy, too. Quelle surprise! I bought this bar at the Food Emporium chocolate shop on the Upper East Side. It was about $6.50 which is pricey for 3.5 ounces of chocolate, but still cheaper than Christopher Elbow's bars. Here are the facts:

Fauchon: Chocolat Noir aux Ecorces d'Oranges Confites

Cocoa content: 62%

Notable ingredients: candied orange peel

Origin: blend, made in Switzerland for Fauchon (French)

First things first, the packaging is beautiful and I loved the little "F" imprint on each square of the bar. The squares break off predictably but the texture is curious -- it's meatier than most, almost more like a firm, rubbery cheese. You can see a rough, fibrous pattern along the break lines where, in a purer dark chocolate, it would appear smooth and consistent.

The bar is really tasty -- it's a lot like those whack-and-unwrap chocolate oranges that I used to get at Trader Joe's, except darker and with little morsels of candied peel. The peel is not the only orangey part, though -- the whole bar tastes citric. I would attribute that to the unusually complicated preservative in the bar, which includes "natural orange flavor."

The texture, I've decided, is a bit of a problem. I wanted it to be smoother and snappier, but instead it's kind of chewy. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the preservative. Maybe I let it get too warm. I give this bar a B+.